Quick Overview
Please note that there are different common names for this artifact.

Noise introduced into digitized signals by the finite voltage resolution of the digitizer.
You can see the effects of quantization if the noise level is smaller than the digitizer quantum. If the signal dynamic range is too great, the highest intensities from overloading the digitizer may result in the weaker features being lost in the digitization noise.

This can be resolved by using an analog to digital converter with a larger range of sensitivity or by using techniques to reduce the dynamic range, e.g. suppressing the signal from water in order to detect the signal from less abundant compounds.

Different stages of the drug development and approval process in the USA, lead from preclinical trials (testing in animals), first application in humans through limited and broad clinical tests, to postmarketing studies.

By Dale E. Wierenga, Ph.D. and C. Robert Eaton
Office of Research and Development
Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association

'In reviewing this report, it is important to keep in mind the realities of the drug discovery and development process. The U.S. system of new drug approvals is perhaps the most rigorous in the world. On average, it costs a company $359 million to get one new medicine from the laboratory to the pharmacist's shelf, according to a February 1993 report by the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment.'

See also Phase 1 2 3 4 Drug Trials, Food and Drug Administration, and European Medicines Agency.

From Hitachi Medical Systems America Inc.;
Hitachi expanded its portfolio with the Echelon™ 1.5T. The MRI scanner combines a compact magnet and a scalable 8-channel RF system with high-performance gradients and slew rate to select short echo times, small field of views, high matrices and thin slices. Standard features of the Echelon MRI system include higher-order active shim, RAPID (parallel imaging for use on brain MRI, body, cardiovascular imaging, and orthopedic coils), multiple coil ports, and an advanced reconstruction engine.

Quick Overview

Eddy currents can cause artifacts in images and may seriously degrade overall magnet performance.

Common uses to reduce the influence of eddy currents on gradient fields are eddy current compensation and shielded gradient coils (active or passive). If persistent, it must be addressed by a service representative to verify the magnet performance.

See also Eddy Current Compensation.

Quick Overview

A combination of B1 inhomogeneity, poor slice profile, and insufficient spoiler gradients between the refocusing pulse and the readout interval of a spin echo sequence results in a FID signal being detected along with the echo.
Since the FID is not phase encoded (normally the phase encoding occurs before the refocusing pulse), it is not dispersed along the phase encoding axis, but appears as a line across the center of the image.

If the problem persists, it must be addressed by a service representative.